Boat.



No. 7|4,805.' Patented Dec. 2, I902.

l. H. .LABR.

BOATJ V (Application filed Nov. 25, 1901.) (No Model'.) 2 Qheets-Sheet l.

Patented Dec. 2. I902..

2 Sheets-Shed 2.

flafilam l. H. LARR.

' BOAT.

(Application filed Nov. 25, 1901.)

aura-urns. wAsmncTou n c No. 7l4,805.

(u Modal.)

. UNITEDSTATESPATENT OFFICE.

.IRA H. ILARR, OFSULLIVAN, INDIANA.

BOAHT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 714,805, dated December 2, 1902.

Application filed November 25190 1. Serial No. 83,633. (No model.)

To all wh0m; .it may concern/.2

Be it known that IyIRA H. LARR,.a of the UnitedIStates;residing at Sullivan,in' the county of Sullivan and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Boat, of which the followingis a specification.

Myinvention relates to certain improvements in boats or barges used for the transportation of coal, coke, ice, and similar merchandise generally transported in bulk, where a number of such barges are assembled in a fleetand controlled and propelled bya tug or steamer. I J

In long-distance towing over large bodies of water, Where there is .plenty'of searoom, the various barges are usually connected in a single line, the tug being at the head and the barges connected one to another by long towing-cables andeach barge being provided with hand or steam "steering-gear to assist in keeping it in the course set by the tug. In such cases but littledifficulty is experienced in keeping the barges in the proper course; but in river towing, where the barges are closely connected either by short tow-lines or by direct lashings, much difficulty is experienced in maneuvering the fleet, especially in following the course of a winding stream or in stopping thefleet at a desired point. To overcome these difficulties, I provide specially-constructed barges, which are arranged in a single line and connected closely together in much thesame manner as a train of cars are coupled and connected at the forward end to a tug or steamer and at the rear end to a tender provided with steering mechanism and with propelling mechanism having a source of supply independent of the tug or steamer, or being connected to said steamer by conducting wires or pipes for the transmission of electrical energy or for the supply of fluid under pressure.

. One of the objects of the invention is to provide forithe close connectionof the various barges, the steamer, and tender forming the fleet, and a further object is to provide a tender with suitable mechanism to assist in the p steering of thefleet and to assist in the gradual checking of its speed prior to a stop, and to provide the tender with propelling apparatus to enable it to tow detached barges from the wharf to the anchorage ground and to assist citizenvention will be apparent from a reading of the following description.

t In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view illustrating a train or fleet of barges connected at one end to a towingsteamer and at the opposite end to a tender or caboose. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a portion of the towing steamer, a single barge, and a tender constructed and connected together in accordance with my invention and illustrating the general arrangement of the propelling mechanisms and the electrical connections between the source of supply on the steamer and the machinery of the tender. Fig. 3 is a plan viewillustrating more clearly the construction of the coupling connections employed between the barges. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation illustrating the arrangement of the steamer-propelling blades.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The stern of the propelling-steamer 1 and the stern of each of the barges 2 are concaved, as illustrated at 3, and the bow of each of the barges 2 and of the tender l are convex, as illustrated at 5. The concaved stern 3 and the convex bows 5 are arranged on correspondingly-curved lines,the bows fitting closely into the stems of the vessel. immediately preceding and'being coupled thereto by short lines 6, which may be formed of ropes or of chains, the lines crossing each other, as indicated more clearly in Fig. 3, and extending, respectively, from the port-quarter of the forward Vessel to the'starboard-bow of the stern vessel and from the port-bow of the stern vessel to the starboard-quarter of the forward vessel. In this manner there is formed a coupling which will permit of the independent pitching of the vessels, but will not permit of any independent sidewise movement. At the same time the connection is such that the vessels may move to follow the course of a bend in the river in the same manner as the cars of a train travel around acurved section of track.

Referring now to the diagram Fig. 2, 8 represents a steam-boiler connected by pipes 9 to engines 10, the latter being connected by suitable gearing 11 to propellers 12, arranged one on each side of the propelling-steamer.

If necessary, a single propeller may be arranged at the rear of the steamer by a suitable construction of the hull below the waterline and the deck only being provided with at each sideof the steamer will produce in a fleet of closely-connected barges a back current or wash on each side of the fleet, which will aid materially in keeping the vessels in alinement. In the steamer there is also arranged an engine 14, connected to one or more dynamos '15, from which extend current-conducting wires 17 to a switchboard 18, and from the latter the current may be di-' rected to astorage battery 19 or to one or more wires 20, having suitable connections to linewires leading over all of the vessels to the tender 4. The tenderis provided with a suitable switchboard 22,from which the current'may be directed to a storage battery 23 in order that there may always be a suitable source of power available when the tow is parted. Thetender is further provided with an electric motor 24, operatively connected to a propeller 25, arranged at the stern of the tender. The pro.- peller 25 is the reverse of the propeller ordinarily used in steam vessels, the flat or eifective surface of the blade being in front of the propeller, while the partially rounded and convex surface is on the rear face. The object of this arrangement is to make the propeller more eifective in stopping the fleet and in taking up the slack of the line of barges immediatelyprecedingastop. Ifthe steamer alone were relied on to stop a long line of barges, the latter could not be ,kept in the course, the headway being sufficient to cause the barges to move to one side or the other and the steamer losing all control of the fleet as soon as steam is shut off and the engines stop. Each barge is provided with a suitable pipe or tube 26, extending along one or both sides, and at the ends of the barges these pipes are extended toward the center and there connected by flexible couplings 27. In this manner a circuit may be established between the dynamos of the steamer and the motor or storage battery on the tender, care being taken to charge the storage battery 23 of the tender during such times as the motor is not in use. steamer is employed as a reserve source of power, which may be connected to the motor or the storage battery of the tender in the event of the failure of any of the machinery on the steamer.

In assembling a fleet the steamer is connected to one or more barges and then an- The arrangement of a propeller The storage battery 19 of thechored in position while the tender tows the remaining barges to position in the line, and after all the barges are assembled and connected the tender is coupled onto the rear end of the fleet or train. The tender is provided with a suitable rudder 30, by which the fleet is steered, and-as the series of boats form, in effect, a single vessel'formed of a series of hinged sections the wash of the propellers on each side will assist materially in keeping the fleet in proper line. When the fleet is about to stop, the electric motor 24 is set into operation, and owing to the peculiar construction of the blades of the propeller the headway may be effectively checked and the barges kept in'proper line until the fleet is anchored. The blades of the propeller 25, while the reverse of those usually employed for the proportions of vessels, are sufficiently effective to enable the tender to take single barges to and from the place of anchorage and to properly assemble the fleet before starting.

It will be understood that the tender may be supplied with a steam or other engine entirely independent of the towing-steamer and that in place of the current-conducting wires the conductor-protecting pipes 26 may be em= ployed to conduct steam or other fluid under pressure from the towing-steamer to an engine on the tender.

Various modifications may be made in the connections between the various vessels and in the form, arrangement, and construction of minor details of the various-vessels without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim is 1. In combination, a fleet of vessels arranged in a continuous but flexible line, a tow-steamer connected to the head of the fleet, a tender connected to the rear end of the fleet, propelling mechanism on the steamer, a power-generator on said steamer, a speedretarding device on the tender, and powerconveying mechanism extending from the generator to the retarding device on the tender and controllable from the steamer.

2. In combination, a series of connected vessels forming a fleet arranged in a continuous but flexible line, a tow-steamer connected to the head of the fleet, a tender connected to the rear end of the fleet, propelling mechanisms on the steamer and the tender, a powergenerator on the steamer, a power-storage device on the tender, and power conveying means connecting the generator the storage device and the propelling mechanisms, therebypermitting the disconnection and independent operation of the tender, substantially as specified.

3. In combination, a fleet of vessels arranged in a continuous but flexible line, a tow-steamer connected to the head of the fleet and a tender connected to the stern there of, propelling mechanism arranged on the steamer, a dynamo, means for driving the same, a storage battery and wiring connections between the dynamo and, storage battery, a storage battery and motor carried by the tender, a reversed propeller arranged at the stern of the tender and adapted to be 0perated bythe motor, and current-conducting wires carried by the various Vessels and con- 

